This card is definitely one of THE GREAT ONEs.
Printed in honor of last week’s Hall of Fame
inductee Bob Maher, Dark Confidant is one of the
best cards printed in many years. In the Year of
the Jitte, Dark Confidant was featured in many
different decks. But this card was not always so
highly praised. Just over a year ago, when
Ravnica first arrived, most respected reviewers
said that Dark Confidant’s ability to draw cards
for you was greatly overwhelmed by its ability
to kill you with the damage he deals when he
draws a card for you. When this card first
arrived, even people who thought Dark Confidant
would have a future in constructed thought the
card was too hazardous to play in limited. By
the end of this past summer, Dark Confidant had
proven itself a powerful card drawing tool in
constructed decks, block constructed decks, in
booster draft decks and yes, even in sealed
decks. Used properly, Dark Confidant gives you a
card advantage boost that cannot be beat along
with an early game beater. Dark Confidant is
indeed The Great One.

This card serves as a real "skill tester" for
newer players. New players hate to lose life,
even if it is to draw extra cards. Life for
cards, however, is nearly always a worthy trade
to make. Dark Confidant's trade, however, is
riskier than any other before him. You might
accidentally reveal a card that costs 7, with
you at 6 life. But the secret to this card's
greatness, is that he is incredibly fast. As a
2/1 for 1B, it makes a great beatdown creature.
And in a beatdown deck, you shouldn't have any
cards that cost more than about 4 anyway. 4 life
for a card is still a bit steep, but remember--
lands have a converted mana cost of zero, and
most decks consist of 30-40% lands. So, almost
half the time, you're getting a free extra land.
The life cost isn't all that crippling in the
right deck, especially since "the right deck" is
an archetype that has long been deficient in
good card draw outlets.

Constructed- 4
Casual- 3
Limited- 3.5

KC MetroGnome

Dark Confidant

What's to say? It's already a 2-mana 2/1, which
is passable. Then throw on a fantastic ability
(especially if you have a way to manipulate
those lands or cheap cards to the top of your
library to fill your hand without burning too
much). I see it showing up in decklists of every
DCI sanctioned format out there, which indicates
that, while it's not the flashiest card out
there, this card is a fantastic workhorse.

Constructed - 4+
Casual - 4
Limited - 4

Mr. Anderson

Today's card is
Dark Confidant or affectionately called "Bob" by
some. This card is perfect at trading life for
extra cards. Bob was best when Type 2 still had
Sensei's Divining Top. This way, you could
manipulate your draws and manage the life loss.
Confidant should only be used in decks that have
low casting cost spells. Bob also serves as a
beater too coming as a 2/1 for 2cc and is quite
splashable. This card is great in aggro control
decks.

Constructed-4
Bob shines greatly in constructed because he
provides great advantage. If you have four
copies and have a splash of black in your deck,
then use him. You won't be dissapointed.

Casual-3
I am on the fence when it comes to casual. If
you want to use him just be careful.

Constructed: Easily one of the best cards in
standard right now. This guy is card advantage
monster. He fits into any aggro or discard
build, because those decks tend to have low
costing cards so you won't be drained that much.
Consider putting him into everyone of your black
decks. However don't put this guy in control
decks, that's what Phyrexian Arena is for. You
don't want to be getting zapped for 4+ life each
turn due to the higher mana curve on control
decks. Still generally Confidant is better,
averaging out the life loss slightly by
topdecking lands and beating for 2 each turn.
This guy sees play in every single format, he's
that good.
4.8/5

Limited: Not as good because limited games are
slower so this guy is going to be draining you
for a lot. Still, the card advantage is nuts and
your opponent shouldn't be around too long after
you play this guy. Plus he's only one black, a
bit more splashable than that old arena, and
fits great in any mana curve.
4/5

Aethereal

Dark Confidant

One of the top defining cards of the last year,
this has shown up in many a deck. Some decks
have even been tweaked just to include it (see:
Olivier Ruel's version of CAL from last year).
It is powerful card advantage, and a beater in
the meanwhile, at a very cheap cost. Sure, the
life loss can really hurt, but you could use
Sensei's Divining Top to help with that if you
really needed to.

The fact, however, that this has and can stand
alone without Top shows how powerful this card
is. If you're running black, you should take a
hard look at this card. Bob Maher is indeed The
Great One.

In casual, Phyrexian Arena is a popular card,
and this is an Arena that beats down.

In limited, I'd play it if my curve weren't too
fat, and/or I had a way to off this thing if it
got out of control. I'm more likely to play it
in sealed than in draft, as you're not
guaranteed to get any good sac outlets later in
your draft.

Constructed - 4.5
Casual - 4.5
Limited - 3

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